Yealimi Noh chasing history at U.S. Women’s Open

[UPDATE, Dec. 13, 2020: Fourth Round Suspended at U.S. Women’s Open; Play to Resume Monday

Fourth-round play at the U.S. Women’s Open has been suspended Sunday day due to course conditions and potential inclement weather later this afternoon. Champions Golf Club has received .73 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. “We want to ensure course conditions are worthy of crowning a major champion,” said John Bodenhamer for the USGA. Play will resume at 9 a.m. EST on Monday with 18 players yet to tee off in the championship’s final round. Golf Channel will air live coverage from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday. 2019 AIG Women’s Open champion Hinako Shibuno sits atop the leaderboard at -4, with Amy Olson second at -3, Moriya Jutanugarn and Ji Yeong Kim2 are tied for third at -1 with Concord’s Yealimi Noh past of a group at even par.]

CONCORD, CA—Teenage phenom Yealimi Noh of Concord is once again near the top of the leaderboard. Last week, she shared the 54-hole lead at the Volunteers of America Classic in Irving, Texas, before finishing tied for second. At even par through 54 holes in the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, she’s tied for fifth and four shots back of the lead.

In addition to her first win on the LPGA Tour, Noh will be chasing history on Sunday at Champions Golf Club. She would become the youngest U.S. Women’s Open winner in championship history at 19 years, 4 months and 17 days, a record set by Inbee Park (19 years, 11 months, 17 days) when she won in 2008.

“I didn’t know that. Just hoping to play my best tomorrow and not have any regrets,” said Noh, who recorded three birdies and four bogeys this afternoon en route to a 1-over 72. “I was really excited for this event because it’s my first [U.S. Women’s Open]. Last week definitely gave me a lot of confidence going into this week.”

Carondelet High School

The LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of Walnut Creek alumna and former Carondelet High student athlete had a stellar amateur career and has quickly established herself as a contender on the biggest stage in women’s professional golf. During a three-week stretch in July 2018, Noh won individual titles at the Girls Junior PGA Championship, U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

She burst onto the LPGA Tour scene last year after a pair of top performances at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic (Tie 6th) and Cambia Portland Classic (runner-up), both coming after she qualified into the field Monday.

As a 2020 rookie, Noh owns two top-five results and is on pace for another with 18 holes left in the most decorated major championship in the women’s game. She has missed only one cut in her rookie season.

“I think just focus,” Noh said about what she has learned from being in contention. “It’s like focusing on yourself and seeing where it will take you because you can’t control anyone else. Greens and fairways are the goal, and to leave ourselves in really good position, like uphill, straight putts.”

Yealimi interview after 3rd round